Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Stocks, Bitcoin and Crypto Markets Breaking Bad on Donald Trump Pump - 21st Nov 24
Gold Price To Re-Test $2,700 - 21st Nov 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks: This Is My Strong Warning To You - 21st Nov 24
Financial Crisis 2025 - This is Going to Shock People! - 21st Nov 24
Dubai Deluge - AI Tech Stocks Earnings Correction Opportunities - 18th Nov 24
Why President Trump Has NO Real Power - Deep State Military Industrial Complex - 8th Nov 24
Social Grant Increases and Serge Belamant Amid South Africa's New Political Landscape - 8th Nov 24
Is Forex Worth It? - 8th Nov 24
Nvidia Numero Uno in Count Down to President Donald Pump Election Victory - 5th Nov 24
Trump or Harris - Who Wins US Presidential Election 2024 Forecast Prediction - 5th Nov 24
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

How Oversold Can Gold Price Get?

Commodities / Gold and Silver 2014 Apr 25, 2014 - 12:29 PM GMT

By: Alasdair_Macleod

Commodities

Gold is now extremely oversold, with emotional opinion in paper markets unanimously bearish. Traders tell us the 200-day moving average is well and truly broken and the next support level is $1260. However, when gold broke down through the $1280 level yesterday it rallied sharply to test the $1300 level in a one-day spike reversal.


Market chat and technical analysis are one thing; more important are the motives behind the commentary, revealed by a dispassionate look at Comex figures. And here we see that Producers and Merchants short positions have fallen to an eight-year low at 73,033 contracts, against a long term average of 186,400. This is the primary source of liquidity for all futures markets, and it has simply dried up.

Swap dealers have also cut their shorts dramatically, reducing their net position by 26,582 contracts, and the eight largest traders between them have a level book. In short, the bears have to persuade us to sell, or they will be in trouble.

The figures quoted above are as of 15th April. Since then the gold price confirms this analysis by refusing to go lower and stay there (hence yesterday's spike reversal), while open interest has risen from the post-Lehman crisis low on 4 April. This is shown in the chart below.

Gold price and Open Interest Chart

The rise in open interest tells us that the shorts, mostly hedge funds, are opening new positions and failing to drive prices lower, so the market is being set up for another bear squeeze. By way of confirmation the gold forward rate in London remains negative up to three months out, indicating an extreme shortage of physical metal at these prices.

In these markets sentiment can change very rapidly. We read this week that the US is on the brink of another housing crisis because sales (demand) have stalled. Last weekend the Ukrainian protagonists met in Geneva and agreed to "de-escalate" the situation. By Monday the situation was escalating again.

Oh, and the best contrary indicator of the lot was also on Monday, when according to the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch blog, for the first time ever all 72 economists polled by the National Association for Business Economics expect the US economy to grow this year. It is usually right to bet against such unanimity in economists.

Next week

Monday. US: Pending Home Sales.

Tuesday. Eurozone: M3 Money Supply, Business Climate Index, Consumer Sentiment, Economic Sentiment. UK: GDP (first est.), Index of Services. US: S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Consumer Confidence, FOMC Meeting (to Wednesday). Japan: Industrial Production.

Wednesday. Japan: Construction Orders, Housing Starts, BoJ Monetary Policy Meeting, BoJ MPC Overnight Rate. Eurozone: Flash HICP. US: ADP Employment Survey, Core PCE Price Index, Employment Index, GDP Annualised, GDP Price Index, Chicago PMI, FOMC Fed Funds Rate.

Thursday. Japan: Vehicle Sales, Real Household Spending, Unemployment. UK: Nationwide House Prices, BoE Mortgage Approvals, Net Consumer Credit, Secured Lending, M4 Money Supply. US: Initial Claims, Core PCE Proce Index, Personal income, Personal Spending, Manufacturing PMI, Construction Spending, ISM Manufacturing.

Friday. Eurozone: Manufacturing PMI, Unemployment. US: Non-Farm Payrolls, Private Payrolls, Unemployment, Factory Orders.

Alasdair Macleod

Head of research, GoldMoney

Alasdair.Macleod@GoldMoney.com

Alasdair Macleod runs FinanceAndEconomics.org, a website dedicated to sound money and demystifying finance and economics. Alasdair has a background as a stockbroker, banker and economist. He is also a contributor to GoldMoney - The best way to buy gold online.

© 2014 Copyright Alasdair Macleod - All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Alasdair Macleod Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in